Sociology Commons^™

The Creeks, Beaches, And Bay Of The Jamaica Bay Estuary: The Importance Of Place In Cultivating Relationships To Nature, Kristen L. Van Hooreweghe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It is often assumed that people living in urban areas lack connections to the natural world and are the source of environmental problems. This assumption, however, is an oversimplification of urban life. Employing an eco-ethnography, with participant observations, qualitative interviews, and an environmental history, this study examines New York City's Jamaica Bay estuary and surrounding neighborhoods to understand how residents cultivate their relationships to nature in a dense urban setting. Many residents near Jamaica Bay have developed a strong connection to place that is rooted in their regular, embodied experiences living, working, playing, and praying on the Jamaica Bay estuary. …

Strategic Citizenship: Dual Marginalization And Organized Transnational Political Mobilization Among Ecuadorian And Dominican Migrants, Howard Caro-Lopez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What factors define transnational political participation and citizenship for contemporary migrants? This dissertation focused on how and why migrant activists from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic pursued political engagement, how their home country governments influenced migrants‘ political activities, and how migrant organizations shaped their transnational activities. The study found that transnational political participation among these two populations was driven by a dual marginalization narrative, where migrants draw from their personal experiences to conclude that they are marginalized in both the U.S. and in their countries of origin based on their status as migrants. Ecuadorian and Dominican political organization leaders use …

Social Disorganization And The Public Level Of Crime Control: A Spatial Analysis Of Ecological Predictors Of Homicide Rates In Bogota, Colombia, Gipsy Escobar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research in the social disorganization tradition has found community disadvantage to be one of the strongest and most consistent macro-level predictors of homicides in urban areas in the United States (Pratt & Cullen 2005). This dissertation empirically tests the applicability of ecological theories of crime to the spatial distribution of homicides in Bogota, Colombia, while proposing alternative measures of social disorganization that are analogous to those used in the American literature but that are more reflective of both social realities and data availability in Colombia. The study used data from several sources including official homicide figures from the National Institute …

Strengths And Weaknesses Of The U.S.-Based Refugee Resettlement Program: A Survey Of International Rescue Committee Employee Perceptions, Jennifer Mincin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is among nine agencies in the United States that resettles refugees. There are two core national resettlement programs: the State Department's Reception and Placement (R&P and the Health and Human Services' (HHS) Matching Grant (MG). These two programs largely have been designed to accomplish refugee self-sufficiency by way of early employment programming and services. Resettlement agencies, such as the IRC, are now beginning to initiate other program areas aside from early employment such as health and wellness, children and youth, and other concepts of financial literacy and economic empowerment.

This staff self-sufficiency study surveyed IRC …

Oh Canada, Your Home On Native Land: Settlement, Development, And Conflict In Southern Ontario, Shana Siegel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

On February 28, 2006, members of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations reserve in southern Ontario physically occupied and halted construction on a housing development bordering their reserve. The Haudenosaunee claimed that the site was part of a larger tract of land that they had never surrendered, and they vowed to remain on the land as long as necessary prevent the planned development from taking place. When police had still not removed the Haudenosaunee protesters almost two months later, some 2,000-3,000 local non-Native residents began voicing their frustration and anger in regular anti-protest rallies. On some occasions, these rallies escalated to the …